Fauci warns people not to drop normal ‘public health measures’ as vaccinations begin

Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), warned Monday that the distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine doesn’t mean people should drop “normal, standard public health measures.”

In an interview with MSNBC, the White House coronavirus task force member told viewers not to let down their guard as it pertains to necessary preventative measures to stop the spread the coronavirus despite the vaccine becoming available for some Americans for the first time this week.

“A vaccine right now is not a substitute for the normal, standard public health measures of wearing a mask, keeping your distance, avoiding congregate crowded sections, and particularly indoors. It’s not a substitute, it complements it.

“Only when you get the level of infection in society so low that it’s no longer a public health threat can you then think about the possibility of pulling back on public health measures,” he said.

Dr. Fauci on returning to a sense of normalcy as the US begins its coronavirus vaccine distribution: “A vaccine right now is not a substitute for the normal standard public health measures … it complements it.” pic.twitter.com/sL8WMNJHcL

— MSNBC (@MSNBC) December 14, 2020

He added during the interview that Americans shouldn’t expect life to return to normal until the second half of 2021 or possibly in the months beyond.

Dosages of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for preventing COVID-19 were first administered across the U.S. on Monday as more than 16 million total infections have been recorded and the country nears 300,000 total deaths resulting from the disease.

President-elect Joe Biden has indicated that he will lean on state and local leaders to implement mask mandates to control the virus’s spread while his health advisers have publicly rejected the idea of implementing a national lockdown.